Best printer for Home and Office Use

We spent over 20 hours analyzing the printer market and visited two printer dealers to find the best one for you.

By Nikhil Gadkar

Updated 2 years ago

If you’re looking to buy a new printer, identifying the perfect device from hundreds of options can be difficult. There are numerous variables - print quality, print yield, ink cost, and warranty - that need to be taken into account. Deciphering the jargon and figuring out which specs best suit your needs can be a challenge in itself. That’s why we’re here to help. Whether you’re looking for an all in one printer for home use or the best laserjet printer for your office, we’re here to give you the low-down on the best printers for home and office use in India.

Our previous testing regime included over 10 days of printing with around 5,500 printouts to assess the quality of the printouts and the capacity of the cartridge or ink tank. We had also consulted a technician with over a decade of experience in the field to gain his insight on common user problems and the best technologies on the market.

But with newer products in the market, we went back to our list and added some more products that boast more features and improved performance. We also visited Croma- one of the first multi-brand dealers to understand what customers prefer when it comes to printers. We also paid a visit to a local printer shop- Printer Care who has a decade of experience in printer sales, service and maintenance.

We finally compiled all our data to arrive at the best all in one printer for home and office use in India.

Best colour printer for office and home use

Canon G2012​

The Canon G2012 is easily the best printer for office and home use in India. It combines the best of two worlds: high print quality and a massive print output. Though this model may lack in connectivity options it’s fantastic simply in terms of cost. The newer version even comes with a display so you can check your printing status. After the initial investment, this printer can print up to 5,000 black prints and around 1000 colour prints with the ink that came in the box, potentially saving you any ink costs in the first year. If you’re going to be printing several pages a day and want a colour printer that is fast, crisp, and efficient, the Canon G2012 is your best bet.

Second best colour printer for office and home use

Epson L380

Are you on a tight budget but are looking to print hundreds of pages every month? The Epson L380 all in one Printer is the perfect choice for you. The printer offers the greatest cost efficiency per print, and like the Canon G2012, this printer can go a long time without requiring a refill. Plus, an added bonus is that Epson has the best service across the country, so you won’t be stuck in the printer breaks down during or after the warranty period.

Best Laser printer in India

HP M126nw Laserjet Printer

Are you looking for an office printer that can be operated over Wi-Fi? The M126nw is easily the best laser printer for office use. This workhorse is built like a tank and can print up 1000 pages per cartridge with a capacity of 8,000 pages per month with complete ease and at super speeds. It prints only in black ink though!

Why trust us?

Previously we had conducted intensive tests on the most popular printers available to find the best all in one printer in India. We printed a total of over 5,500 pages over the course of 10 days to assess each device’s printing quality and efficiency. We also consulted an expert technician with over 10 years of experience to understand which printers are at greatest risk of damage and which are the most commonly faced user problems.

But this time when we saw a lot more products being launched we had to revisit our best picks and find even better products. We started our basic shortlisting from Amazon and Flipkart bestsellers and then moved onto dealers to really understand the market. Here we spoke to a Croma dealer which sells all types of printers and cartridges, then we headed over to a printer sales and service store to talk about printer maintenance and what to look for when buying a printer.

How we selected?

We had begun with the 350 printers available on Amazon and Flipkart and eliminated products that were not popular and which didn’t have enough reviews. Then, we replaced older models with new ones. We also eliminated some printers since the theoretical cost per page worked out to be too high. Finally, we added some printers based on our expert technician’s input. We were left with seven of the best all in one printer in India. From the seven we tested previously we found the following to be the best picks.

HP LaserJet Pro M126nw

Canon g2002

Hp Deskjet ink advantage 3835

Epson L380​

But with newer products being launched in the market, we went back to our best picks list and added a few more products. To make sure we make the right picks we visited Croma- one of the first multi-brand dealers to understand what customers prefer when it comes to printers. We also paid a visit to a local printer shop who has a decade of experience in printer sales, service and maintenance.

How we tested?

The biggest mishap that one can run into while buying a printer is investing in a low-cost one, but spending far more than its price on ink in the following years. And so, when we last tested printers we conducted an experiment. We made sure all the cartridges were full in each of our selected printers. Then, we printed out a custom picture (see below) which featured the main cartridge colours

We kept printing until all the cartridges ran completely out of ink. We noted the approximate number of pages each printer printed. Using this data, we could compare the efficiency of the printers. Then, taking into account the cost of a new cartridge, we calculated which is the most cost-efficient printer. (The DPI was kept constant) Here’s what we found:

As you can see the ink tank printers are super cheap compared to the inkjet and cheaper than the laser printers as well.

One important point to note here is that we printed a document containing primary colours (red, yellow, and blue) at the highest density to understand how quickly the printer exhausts the cartridge. However, photos printed at home are likely to consume less ink than our test document. So, you can expect a significant increase in output even in our best printer - Canon G2002 - which was able to print around 5,000 pages.

We wanted to ensure that the printer we recommend has sufficient, if not great, printing speeds. This is a key factor if it is to be used in an office or in an environment that requires high volumes of printing; a slow printing machine can severely hold up processes. So we measured the time it takes to print out a black and white and a colour image.

We also tested the scan function by scanning ID cards, Aadhar cards and photos to make sure that the scan quality was high.

To investigate the warranties and maintenance services offered by the manufacturers - i.e., HP, Canon, and Epson - we reached out to the company and consulted with local printer technicians.

Also, to find the best budget printer for home and office use in India, we calculated the cost over five years by including the following factors:

Approximate number of pages printed per year

The rate of the printers

Cost of accessories over five years​

Based on the above calculations, we were able to come up with two budget printers that were quite economical if the number of pages printed per year was less than a hundred. The results are tabulated in the budget printer section.

How to choose the best printer- inputs from the dealers

Having met with a popular multi-brand dealer; Croma and a printer sales and service store that has been around for 10+ years, we got some valuable advice from them regarding what features to look for before buying a new printer.

The very first advice the dealers gave was to buy a printer with wireless connectivity and more such features only if you need them as a printer with lesser features will be easier to repair and will save you quite a bit when it comes to price.

Next, the dealers strictly told to pick an inkjet only if you will print sufficiently and regularly. Also, both of our experts strictly advised against inkjets as the ink costs of them often cross the price of the printer itself. The dealers, in fact, admitted that inkjets are a massive waste of money and borderline on being a scam where the printer itself is quite cheap but the cartridge costs will pile on later. To see how bad the inkjets are check our “Inkjet vs Ink Tank” section below.

Adding a bit more on types of printers if you are someone who uses a printer once every blue moon our experts suggest you strictly do not buy an inkjet or an ink tank as they need to be used regularly. At least once every couple of days. Laser printers can be considered if you do not want regular use but they are mostly limited to monochrome printing.

But if you have high usage then how should you pick? well, If you have to print less than 200 pages a month an inkjet is preferred (which we wouldn't recommend as each cartridge can print only up to 150 pages) if you need to print above 300 pages (to a maximum of 1000 pages) a month go for the ink tank. Anything more than 2000 prints up to 10000 prints and look no further than a laser printer.

When it comes to brands, our dealers told to stick with HP, Canon and Epson are popular with better service network and cartridge availability. Brands like Ricoh, Brother and Konica Minolta do not have the service reach like the aforementioned brands.

Talking about common issues in printers will be when it comes to inserting paper and poor print quality due to 3rd party cartridges. This is something to be taken care of after you buy a printer but our expert at Printer Care told was it is a bad practice to use non-original printer cartridges as they will decrease the quality of printing.

No wireless option. But there is a later version that is exactly the same and supports WiFi.​

If you need a printer for your office that can print a lot of stuff or you need to print a ton of assignments and projects at your home then the Canon G2012 is your best bet. It is efficient, fast, and has a low operational cost. In addition, the in-built scanner and copier will help satisfy all your office’s documenting needs. The printer can even work for your home needs that include printing homework, projects reports, tickets and will be better suited than Inkjet printers which are not that great in terms of costs if you print a lot.

We had in the past tested the Canon G2002 which is the older version of the G2012 with the only difference being the lack of a display. Other than that all the features remain same and you can expect the same performance as we had tested.

The best part, of course, is that each ink refill lasts a long time, so you won’t have to keep running out to get cartridges. Canon's first refillable ink tank all in one printer is designed for high-volume printing at low running cost. The Canon G2012 can print approximately 6,000 pages with the ink bottles (3 black ink, 1 cyan, 1 yellow, 1 magenta ink) provided in the box, making it one of the most efficient printers out there. The printer uses ink tank technology, which explains its superior performance. However, ink tanks printers, given their initial costs are for people who print heavily and not for those who rarely print as the ink can dry up and form lumps if not used regularly. The ink tanks efficiency also reduces the need to frequently refill your tanks.

Design

This is a well-designed and sleek printer with an integrated ink tank. There are four translucent ink tanks for the four colours - black, cyan, magenta, and blue. The amount of ink in each tank is clearly visible, so you’ll know in advance when you have to restock. While the version we tested, the G2002 did not have a display, the newer version (G2012) does have a display which is very beneficial as you can see the progress and more.

Performance Based on the Tests Conducted

Installing the software and setting up the Canon G2002 can be a little time-consuming when compared to the Epson and HP printers. However, the Canon performed exceptionally well in terms of the number of pages printed. We printed around 1,500 pages using black ink per refill and around 1,000 colour pages (see ‘How We Tested’ section). The printing cost per page for colour prints was INR 1.29 and for monochrome was INR 0.26. This is rather nominal compared to inkjet printers and is made possible only by the Canon G2002’s great performance. The print quality was better than that of the other all-rounder, Epson L380, but it was still slightly lesser than that of inkjet printers.

Though the Canon website mentions that the duty cycle for this printer is 1,000 pages, in our testing process, we were able to print 1,500 pages in a week’s time without encountering any issues. However, we recommend sticking to the 1,000 prints/month range to avoid long-term problems. If however, you need to print a lot more pages do check out the HP LaserJet Pro M126nw Laser Printer.

The Canon G2002 was slightly slower than the Epson. It took around 20 seconds to churn out a colour print and 9 seconds to print a monochromatic page.

The scanning functionality worked quite well during testing. We were able to scan various documents like invoices, photo id cards, and photos, and make multiple copies easily. However, the printer lacks automatic duplex printing, and the pages need to be flipped manually.

Maintenance and Warranty

Printers are notorious for breaking down. To investigate the warranty available on the device, we called the customer support of Canon printers. We found that the printer comes with a one-year on-site warranty for Tier 1 cities. Canon, however, does not offer on-site support for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities even during the warranty period and does not have a lot of service centres. If you are located in Tier 2 or Tier 3 city, you may have to consult a local third-party repair person to fix your device.

Price and summary

Since this printer has an incredibly high page yield, users can print to their heart’s desire without worrying about the cost of ink or of ink supplies running low. Since the remaining ink levels are easily visible, restocking in time is not a problem. Though this printer may seem expensive at the outset, its low per-page cost makes it the economical option for those who have to print a lot of pages frequently.

Priced at under Rs.10,000, the Canon G2012 offers low-cost printing with the help of ink tank technology. As far as speed and quality are concerned, the printer impressed us for sure, but there are some areas where we expect it to improve. It lacks LAN connectivity, and auto duplexing (printing on both sides), which is commonly found in similar inkjet printers.

Please note that if connectivity options (Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and app) are important for you, you should check out the Canon G3012. It costs around Rs.12500 but comes with the additional wireless features. If you need fax facility also please check the Canon G4012.

Note about Canon Ink tank printers naming confusion:

While reading Amazon reviews and checking the Canon websites we saw some discrepancies when it came to model numbers of Canon’s Ink Tank series. For Eg: The Canon G2002 model is present only on Amazon but not on Canon’s website or Flipkart. Digging deeper we found what it meant and we have listed the same below.

There is no LCD display to show which options you’ve selected (UX could have been better)

No wireless option. But newer models are available with this feature​

Epson is one of the worlds largest printer manufacturer and was in the one who invented the ink-tank printer technology in 2014.

The Epson L380 printer can print approximately 4750 pages with the provided ink bottles (3 black ink, 1 cyan, 1 yellow, 1 magenta ink). Like the other ink tank printer on our list, the Canon G2012, the Epson L380 offers advantages such as high print yield, lower cost of printing at high volume, and ink that doesn’t dry up inside the printer. Priced similar to the Canon G2012, the lightweight Epson L380 offers near equal performance.

Though the Epson website mentioned that the duty cycle for this printer is 1,000 pages, in our testing process, we were able to print 1,250 pages in a week’s time without any issues.

This printer does have a few disadvantages. When we were testing, we found the output tray to be too small to handle bulk prints, and sheets would keep falling out. In addition, the lack of a display can be frustrating, since there is no way to monitor printing and copy progress.

In addition, the ink-tank is set to the side of the printer to make ink-filling easy. However, though it does make ink-filling super simple, the size of the printer stretches on one side, and you may need to take additional care of the unit.

Performance

Installation and setup were very easy. The printer software can be downloaded from the website or can be directly installed from the CD.

We could print around 3,750 black and white prints and 1,000 colour prints with the ink bottles that came in the box. In terms of print efficiency, the Epson L380 edged out the Canon G2012 and won thanks mainly due to slightly cheaper cartridges and a higher number of printouts per cartridge.

Cost per page for black and white print-outs was 0.25 INR and for colour was 1.1 INR. During our testing, we found the overall print quality of the Epson L380 to be good, but not better than the Canon. Colour photo prints were almost identical to the original photos, and colours were also quite accurate, and their distribution, even. The Epson L380 had the fastest print speed in our test: 15 secs per colour print and 5 secs per black print. The performance of the scanning and copying functions were flawless.

Maintenance and Warranty

We called Epson customer service to confirm that this printer has a one-year on-site warranty across India. To avail the warranty, product details (like invoice and serial no) have to be registered by sending a mail to registration@epsonindia.com​

If you need to get your printer serviced after the warranty period, numerous service centres are available to do the same. However, AMC packages are available only for corporate customers.

The Epson does offer a big advantage in terms of maintenance. With other printers, general maintenance like print-head cleaning can be done only by third-party services or experts. But with this Epson model, maintenance can be done at home; no special expertise is required. There are several options available for cleaning print-heads, nozzle cleaning, and other common problems. These options can be initiated by pressing a combination of buttons and following the instructions mentioned in the Epson manual.

Price and summary

With the highest colour print yield and fast printing speeds, the Epson L380 is an excellent option for those who want a cost-efficient and speedy all in one printer. Available at a price of around Rs 10,490, the L380 is ideal for office needs. The printer is shipped with two additional black ink bottles, which will reduce your initial printing cost to a great extent. Considering its print efficiency, you might not require any additional ink bottles in the first year.

This printer is solidly built and is suitable for heavy duty usage. The high capacity input and output trays show that it’s been designed for bulk printing. Indeed, this printer is particularly good at churning out a high volume of black and white prints at top speed. The printer also offers wireless connectivity so that documents can be printed over WiFi or through the HP app on your smartphone.

Performance

The HP m126nw all in one laser printer is a heavy-duty system which has very high printing speeds of approximately 20 prints per minute. The print quality is very high compared to the Samsung laser printer we tested.

The HP printer gave us around 1100 black printouts, which was much higher than the other laser printers coming in at 850 printouts. The cost per sheet works out to about INR 1.5. We tested the wireless and ePrint options and both worked without any lagging.

The HP site mentions that the duty cycle for this printer is about 8,000 pages per month. This makes it great for office use as well as for small business like Printing shops etc.

Maintenance and Warranty

HP offers solid customer service across India. If they are unable to solve the problem over the phone, they will send a technician to your home or office during the warranty period, wherever you may be located in India.

HP also provides an AMC which can help maintain the machine after the warranty period.

HP original cartridges cost INR 1500. According to our expert technician, it is possible to reduce this cost by refilling the cartridges, which would cost only INR 300. The drum of the cartridge would have to be replaced every two to three refills, but that too would cost only around INR 300. However, refilled cartridges may lead to compromises on print quality, and we do not endorse this practice.

Price and summary

This affordable HP LaserJet Pro MFP is easy to install and delivers crisp, clear documents. They provide easy, reliable, and affordable printing or copying for professional-quality documents. Additional scan, copy and fax tools make it the best printer for office use in India.

This printing machine focuses on low-cost printing while ensuring best-quality prints. As far as speed and quality are concerned, this is truly impressive.

A note on warranty and service

Printers are famous for breaking down, more so than other computer accessories. Recurrent issues include the ink drying up or the print-head getting damaged. Therefore, warranties and service agreements are more important for printers than for other office gadgets.

And so, we took it upon ourselves to analyse the warranties and service offered by various printer manufacturers. Here’s what we did:​

Reached out to the HP, Canon, and Epson service centres and helplines

Met an expert printer technician to understand common problems in printers and which are more prone to damage

Analysed the AMC details of each product tested​

Our analysis showed that Epson has the best service. They have centres across India and offer on-site maintenance for one year. The on-site maintenance is very good regardless of which city you are in. The expert technician also corroborated this by saying that Epson printers, in his 10 years of experience, are the least likely to get damaged.

HP also offers a great warranty and operates services centres throughout India. They have on-site warranty support for one year.

Though the Canon G2012 is fantastic in many ways, it's only downside is the support. Canon does not offer on-site support for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities even during the warranty period and does not have a lot of service centres. Even if you approach a third-party technician, he might not be able to help since this technology is a relatively new one. You might have to take it to a metro city to get it serviced.

Who Are our best picks for?

​Canon G2012 with its high print efficiency, low print costs and high volume printing makes for a great investment for office use or even homes which need that amount of printing. It is more expensive than inkjet printers but when you include the efficiency it outperforms the cartridge-based printers.

Epson L380is even cheaper than the Canon G2012 when it comes to printing costs. Other features remain similar to the Canon although it is a wee bit cheaper than it. The Epson printer also makes for great value if you need to print a lot.

HP M126nw Laserjet Printeris a black and white printer that is designed for heavy-duty printing. It has the capacity to print up to 8000 pages per day and can print 1100 pages per cartridge. It makes for a perfect printer for office and small printing businesses.

Ink Tank or Cartridge: Which is best for you?

Ink tank technology was introduced in 2014 by Epson and is yet to become as popular as the ink cartridge system. This technology, though relatively new, is miles better than the current print cartridge technology, primarily due to its cost efficiency. In fact, the quality argument doesn’t hold much water here, for as far as quality goes, cartridges are only fractionally better.

The capacity of standard inkjet cartridges is exponentially lower compared to ink tank systems. If you require only a few pages to be printed every month, the printer is quite cost efficient considering the bundle of features you get at that low initial price (around INR 3-6,000). With low, regular usage you will save on cartridge costs over the years and the ink won’t dry up inside the machine. However, if you require hundreds of pages printed every month, this printer could work out to be extremely expensive since it will require frequent refills.

This has been validated in our analysis and testing: the Canon and Epson ink tank printers outperformed the others by miles in terms of cartridge efficiency, giving users low-cost yet high-quality printing. You also need to know that while one Inkjet cartridge can print around 150 pages, the Ink Tanks can print up to a whopping 5000 pages!

To understand the difference between printing costs on the Inkjet and Ink Tank we calculated the costs per page to print up to 5000 pages.

The above table shows how efficient and cost-effective the Ink Tanks printers are when it comes to volume printing. Not only do the Ink Tanks print much more than the Cartridge based Inkjet printers they also far cheaper when you need to print as high as 5000 prints. This shows that Inkjets should be limited to occasional home printing only and they will be wasteful for bulk printing.

The cartridges of both Inkjet and Ink Tank are around Rs.1,500 but the biggest difference is that,

1 Ink Tank Cartridge = 32 Inkjet Cartridges!

Note:

If you expect to print more than 50 pages per month, we recommend you get a more efficient ink tank system like the Epson L380 or even the Canon G2012.​

2. In the table above we did not mention an Ink Tank printers refill costs because the ink provided in the box is enough for up to 5000 prints. But for refilling the tank for further printing the costs are similar to Inkjet cartridges at around Rs.1500 for the colour and black inks.​

3. The inkjet’s rate can be further brought down by refiling the used cartridges with new ink. However, this practice has consequences and may hamper your printer’s performance. However, our expert technician said that this is a common practice in India.

4. Although Ink Tank printers do not dry up as quickly as cartridge printers, Manufacturers recommend you to replace the ink yearly whether it's been used or not.

Our expert technician also confirmed that the other benefits of this kind of printers are that the ink won’t dry up within the machine, and it will not require frequent cartridge changes or refilling. Though the initial refilling may be a bit tricky, each refill will last way longer than an ink cartridge. However, the ink used with the ink tank printer has an expiry date of 1 year from the date of open. No matter the ink is used or not, it has to be replaced for the proper functioning of the printer.

If you expect to print several pages day, we highly recommend ink tank printers as they easily outpace cartridge printers in this area: they are more efficient, cheaper in the long run, and relatively hassle-free. Granted, the quality of print may be a tiny bit lower, but they simply make more sense in terms of cost.

Final Thoughts

Unlike smartphones which have certain key differentiators in terms of specifications, most printers appear to be the same and hence can be very difficult to decide between. It is situations like this that can confuse you so we have done all the hard work so that all you have to do is click on the buy button.

The Canon G2012 is the best ink tank printer for office use in India with great print quality and the second highest print output on a single cartridge. Given its costs, in the long run, it can make for a good home printer also if you regularly use it. With an inbuilt scanner and copier, this printer is perfect for someone who is looking for a multipurpose all in one printer that can handle a high print volume.

The Epson L380 all in one Printer is the perfect choice for someone looking for a high yield printer. It offers the greatest cost-efficiency per print and the fastest printing speed compared to other ink tank systems. Its performance comes only second to the Canon G2012. Given its printing capacity it is more suited for office use which demands regular high volume printing, but if you are some who needs to print a lot at home this printer will still work fine for you too.

The HP M126nw is best suited for offices and small businesses. It can churn out black and white prints at a tremendous speed and is built like a tank. It offers wireless connectivity so that you print from wherever you are, on the network. It’s a fairly affordable laserjet and offers a better print quality compared to others in the segment.

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